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saison

Etymology and origin of the French word saison

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Confidence
Probable
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1119, Philippe de Thaon, Comput
Inherited from
Latin satio via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (serō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin satio
French saison

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sɛ.zɔ̃/[1]
  • IPA: /se.zɔ̃/[1]

Forms

saison f (plural saisons)[1] Old French seison, seson;[2][1] saison from about 1175.[2][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French seison, inherited from Latin satiō (“sowing; sowing time; seed”), in its accusative form.[2][3][4][5] The Latin noun is derived from satum, supine of serō (“to sow, plant”), from an Indo-European root meaning “to sow”, the root of semer.[2][6] The sense passed from the sowing season, the season par excellence, to the other seasons.[4][7] Cognate with Old Occitan sazon, Spanish sazón and Portuguese sazão; the Spanish word means only “the right time”.[4][7]

Scheler doubted this origin, because Italian stagione cannot be separated from the French word; the Italian word comes from Latin statiō (“a standing still”), used in astronomy of the apparent halts of the sun in the signs of the zodiac.[7][4] The Grand Robert mentions that Latin word as another proposal.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Philippe de Thaon's Comput (1119) it means the weather: Averum bele saisun, “we shall have fine weather”.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

From the weather it came to mean an indeterminate period of time (about 1140), a sense that lasted into the 18th century, with lost phrases such as en nule saison “never” and longue saison “for a long time”.[3][2] En saison (Chrétien de Troyes, 1176) and hors de saison (1266) refer to the right or wrong moment.[3]

It named the time of year for particular farm work and the period when crops ripen (about 1160), hence fruits de saison and marchande des quatre saisons.[2][6] About 1240–60 Philippe de Novare uses it for each of the four divisions of the year.[3][6] Later senses include the season for an activity or a resort (la saison des bains), la saison des amours (1805, after Buffon's saison de l'amour, 1770) and, in sport, the season of competitions.[3][9][1] Du Bellay (1554–57) uses it for each age of life.[3] Derivatives include assaisonner (13th century), morte-saison (1382) and saisonnier (1775).[4][3]

Timeline

  • 1119 – Saisun “weather” in Philippe de Thaon.[3]
  • c. 1140 – “Period of time”, in Gaimar.[3]
  • 1176 – En leu et an seison in Chrétien de Troyes.[3]
  • c. 1260 – One of the four divisions of the year.[3]
  • 1382 – Morte-saison.[3]
  • 1554–57 – Du Bellay: an age of life.[3]
  • 1775 – Saisonnier.[4]
  • 1805 – La saison des amours in Cuvier.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A season, one of the four divisions of the year.[1][9]
  2. A period of the year marked by its climate: la belle saison, la saison des pluies.[9][1]
  3. The time of year for certain crops or farm work: fruits de saison, la saison des vendanges.[9][2]
  4. The period of activity of a resort, a trade or a sport: haute saison, la saison théâtrale.[9][1]
  5. De saison: appropriate, hors de saison: out of place, untimely.[9][3]

Word family

  • assaisonner
  • demi-saison
  • saisonnier
  • arrière-saison
  • morte-saison

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  4. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 240b
  6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Saison.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/saison. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·